Unraveling Mordecai by Marisa Maichel (types of ebook readers txt) 📕

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It took me a while to wake up. I had a pounding headache, and my lover was still sleeping beside me, snoring lightly. I rolled her onto her side, felt her naked skin against mine. I put my hands against her and purred. Our little one slept peacefully, her heart beating soundly.
Sarah opened her eyes, then closed them again due to the bright light escaping from the blinds.
“Oh, my head,” she muttered. Then her eyes shot open. “Oh my goodness. I screwed up. Fowley is going to be pissed. He’s going to-“
“Hey, shhh,” I soothed her. “He won’t be a problem. You’re mine, remember? He can’t hurt you now.”
“You don’t know his power. I do. He’ll send goons to us, and then he’ll-“
“Shhh,” I encouraged. “It was my fault, baby. I upset him. I should have known better…but I wish you’d told me.”
“I knew you would be against it,” she said, her eyes shining. “But I needed the money bad. And I can’t sit around feeling useless. I found out that Fowley needed a female guard, and I’ve taken some self-defense classes, so I thought I could do it for him. I’m sorry, Reese. It was my fault, not yours.”
“Shhh, baby, hush. I know why you did it. You should know by now that you can ask me for anything, and I’ll do my damnedest to do it for you. I love you more than life itself, Sarah Harper Cresley.”
I kissed her roughly. Then someone knocked at the door, and I growled at the interruption.
“It’s Selena,” I told Sarah.
“Come in,” she said sweetly.
Selena opened the door a crack and said, “Sarah, your gift is here. We all pitched in, and Reese picked it out.”
“Oh.” She looked at me. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”
“Yes, I did,” I corrected her. “I can’t have you driving a clunky old Honda around.”
“Hey, don’t knock on my Honda. Hondas are more expensive upfront, but they last forever.” Her eyes widened. “Reese, you didn’t.”
“I did. I bought you a car, lover. I hope you like it. I got it in a color you like, one that doesn’t show dirt.”
I let her go and groaned when I saw that I’d bruised her arms. She didn’t seem to care, though, as she walked around her room pulling clothes out and getting dressed.
“A car.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe it. I don’t deserve you, Reese.”
“I disagree strongly,” I told her. “It is I who is unworthy of you.”
“Did you just try to quote North and South?”
“I did. Did I get it right?”
“You were close. A car. Is it pink?”
I chuckled. “Sorry, babe, it’s not pink, but it is a nice shade of blue.”
“I like blue, too.” She pinched an unbruised part of her arm. “I hope I’m not dreaming.”
I hugged her from behind. She pulled on her boots, struggling a bit due to her stomach getting in the way, and grabbed a jacket.
I carefully helped her down the steps, conscious of her condition (she was definitely showing now), and opened the door for her, careful not to let any dogs or cats get out. (I had to physically restrain Lola and Jasmine, who sniffed at Sarah, perhaps sensing her pregnancy.)
The brand-new navy blue Lamborghini sat in the driveway with a big red bow on top. I looked over at Sarah. Tears shined in her eyes, and she started to cry.
“If you don’t like it, we can always return it,” I told her.
She suddenly hugged me in what would have been a bone-crushing hug if she’d been a vampire.
“It’s…I can’t…believe…you…it’s beautiful….”
I kissed the top of her head. I inhaled her scent, the floral scent that was her soul and her feminine musky scent that made her female. I could also smell her blood, which was always enticing to me, but not in a way that made me want to consume her. Blood to taste or sip like fine wine, not inhale like Louis does when he eats.
She cried for nearly an hour, at which point she was too hungry to care about the car.
Zie made eggs and buttered toast and poured Sarah and Sabine glasses of milk.
“All babies need milk,” she said. Sarah blushed while Sabine rolled her eyes.
Sabine had grown a bit since I’d met her. She was sixteen now, almost seventeen, the same age Sarah was when we first began dating almost three years before.
“I hate you, Sarah,” Sabine muttered, and Sarah obviously heard, because she ran out of the room crying.
“What is your problem?” I snapped at the brat. “None of this is her fault.”
She tore our family apart! I know why Daddy died, it was to prevent Sarah’s death! She makes us look bad! She’s dating you, which, let’s face it, you’re not a real prince. She caused Mom to drink alcohol again and she’s the reason why Mom started hitting us!”
“How dare you!” That didn’t come from me, but from Mother. Her eyes were blazing with fury. “Your sister has done a lot more for your family than you realize! Did you know your mother was in debt? NO, because you’re a selfish brat who only thinks of herself! Sarah is not the reason why James died! That was pure bad luck. Sarah is not the reason why your grandmother and grandfather aren’t speaking to you, that fault lies with your accursed mother! Stop blaming Sarah, and take some responsibility for once!”
Sabine ran from the room, also crying. Mother softened.
“I shouldn’t have yelled at her.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “Someone needed to set her straight. You’re right, none of this was Sarah’s fault. She got caught in the crossfire, and it shows. She secretly hates herself for it, for her past mistakes, and the way she’s been treated, made her self-esteem plummet. It all started with Nales.” I ground my teeth at the mention of his name. “He’s the one who caused this. If he’d never raped her, then she wouldn’t have been crying, and I wouldn’t have….” I trailed off and looked at Mother.
She smiled weakly. “You blame yourself, don’t you, son?”
“Think about it. If I’d never been infatuated with her in the first place-“
“You can blame the Fates for that, dear.”
“The Fates had nothing to do with it. I made so many mistakes, Mom, and I’m making one right now. Mom, I’m losing interest. I’m attracted to Scarlett Hart, of all people! And you know her history with Sarah.”
Mom looked furious. “You are my son, but if you break Sarah’s heart, I’ll crush your skull between my hands. Do I make myself clear?”
I gulped. “Yes, ma’am.”
She smiled. “It’s natural to feel some tension occasionally. Couples fight, and even lose interest in each other. Every relationship has its ups and downs, it’s how you handle them that matters.”
“Are you going to tell her?”
“Certainly not. I’d rather die than break that girl’s heart. I’ve already fought with her twice. I don’t want to hurt her anymore. I know we will probably fight again, Sabine and Selena and I fight all the time, but that doesn’t mean I love her any less.”
“You really care for my girl, don’t you, Mom?”
“Of course I do. The Fates would never grant Marina Santorino Nicolai’s child a mate that they could not handle.” She fluffed her wildly curly raven-black hair. I noticed something.
“You cut your hair,” I noted.
“Oh, yes, I trimmed off a foot or two. I needed a change of hairstyle. I’ve had the same hairstyle for four hundred years! Isn’t that a riot? But your father and uncle haven’t changed their hairstyles in thousands of years. Your cousin at least went short once or twice. In the old days, long hair was a sign of beauty and skill. Of course, we now know that it depends on the heart and soul, not the length of a person’s hair.” She pressed a fist against her chest.
“How are the babies?” I asked.
She smiled and put both hands on her belly. “Come feel.”
I eased forward and carefully put my hand on her. She was huge, no offense meant. But then again, she was having triplets. She was sure that at least two of them were boys. “Little princes”, she called them. She called the girl “a sweet angel.”
“She doesn’t kick at all,” Mother said, putting my other hand on her. “My boys are feisty and ornery, while the girl is quiet and sleeps a lot. I hope that is a good thing. You know, I had so many miscarriages and stillborns, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever become a mother, something I wanted to be more than anything. It was only when I became a vampire that one of my trysts with my ex-husband bore a fruit, which became Selena. Years later, I married your father and romped with him, which of course resulted in you.”
“Too much information, Mom.”

Sarah and Sabine avoided each other, and by that afternoon, Sabine had run away again. While Mother sent out search parties, I tried comfort Sarah. I managed to convince her that it wasn’t her fault, at least for a little bit, and told a few lame jokes to make her smile. She tried, she really did, but it looked more like a grimace.
We played with the dogs for a couple hours, and then some guys came to work on Mother’s garden in the backyard. She was building a massive stone walkway and patio which led to a pool and would have pink rosebushes. She let Sarah help pick out the stone and the flowers that they would use. Later, she planned to build a koi pond. I told her about Pearl, my sort-of-pet koi, and she thought it was hilarious that I would consider a fish to be my best friend.
I reminded her that I had a new best friend, who also happened to be my fiancée and soulmate. She tweaked my chin and said I was silly.
We watched Frogs, Creature From the Swamp Lagoon, Beauty and the Beast, Twilight, and The Fault in our Stars. Sarah was a little freaked out by the creature features, but I reminded her that if any frog tried to eat her, I would protect her. She hated frogs, anyway.
She fell asleep on my lap sometime halfway through The Fault in our Stars, and I carried her up to bed. I called Father to check in with him, and he told me to be safe, as usual.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” he reminded me.
“Father, I’ve already done something stupid. It cost Sarah her job and nearly cost our lives.”
“What did you do?” he asked after a long hiss that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
I explained about Fowley and Sarah’s job, then what I did.
“Silly girl,” he said, and I could picture him shaking his head. “Fowley is dangerous and unpredictable, even at the best of times. I hope you helped her get home safely.”
“Of course I did! She’s the mother of my baby.”
“Speaking of which, I’d like an update on the child.”
It hit me. If I was having my first child…that would make him a grandfather, unless David somehow had kids and didn’t tell us. I’d seen very little of my brother since I moved into Mother’s house for the chilly season. Father told me he and David got along well, and he and Louis were like brothers, but Uncle Soren was still suspicious, and he frequently gave David reasons to be